HLH
Farm and Development Limited (HLHDF)is
91 % Norwegian, owned by individuals associated to, or members of,
Friends of Haydom in Norway (FoH).

My
impression from what I heard in Dajamaeda is that the relationship
between the management at Mulbadaw and their neighbours is bad.
However, the present management at Mulbadaw has been good at
establishing and maintaining a good relationship with elected
political leaders and with senior officers at District and Regional
level.

Lack
of respect; being treated as “sheep, goats and monkeys”.

There
is a water tank close to the village serving the farms, but the
villagers have no piped water. Participants voiced a fear of
poisoning livestock and people from the surface water they are using.

The
unilateral physical take-over of Mulbadaw Farm and Central
Maintenance and Service Centre by order from the Foundation
Friends of Haydom in Norway; without producing any court
injunction or any legal document authorizing such a take-over.

The
conduct of the chairman of the Board of Directors of Haydom
Development Company Ltd; his lack of loyalty to lawful
decisions made by the Board in 2006 and his unauthorized and
secret dealings with Joseph Tadayo leading up to the
unilateral physical take-over mentioned above.

The
deceit by FoH in fulfilling their own board decision of
October 2005 in financing HDC Ltd

The
lack of registration of the entity running Mulbadaw Farm and
Central Maintenance and Service Centre after 12th
August 2006; how can a foreign foundation own and run
businesses in Tanzania without being registered in Tanzania?

The
suspicion of corruption aimed at avoiding the case to be
considered by the court.

Report
from the director of HDC

The
villagers bordering Mulbadaw farm want to discuss their concerns with the
Minister of Agriculture – as soon as possible.

Background:

Haydom
Development Company Ltd bought Mulbadaw Farm and CMSC in 2005.The Liquidator, Joseph Tadayo, handed over both properties
officially to HDC Ltd on 6th December 2005. On 12th
August 2006, “Friends of Haydom” in Norway took the farm by using
physical force, without any court order and without any written authority
from Tanzanian Governmental institutions.I am
the Managing Director of HDC Ltd.

The
villagers bordering Mulbadaw farm want to discuss their concerns regarding
the relationship and problems with the present occupiers of the former
NAFCO farms with the Minister of Agriculture – as soon as possible.

They
asked for my assistance in bringing the matter to the attention of the
Minister for Agriculture.Being
a visitor to Tanzania for a few weeks, I told them that the proper way
would be to go through local leaders and district and regional offices.
They had tried, they said, in vain.

When
I mentioned that I might be able to let the Member of Parliament for
Kigoma know about their request, they asked me to do that.

Problems:

1.
Present Ownership – Mulbadaw and CMSC

HLH
Farm and Development Limited (HLHDF)is
91 % Norwegian, owned by individuals associated to, or members of, Friends
of Haydom in Norway (FoH)

I
have been told that TRA once had dialogue with the management about the
organization of the owner company and the company managing Mulbadaw Farm.The outcome of this discussion did not change anything about who in
reality owns and run the company/companies.

2.
Relationships with neighbours and political and administrative leaders

I
have been in touch with friends and former colleagues from Haydom
Development Company Ltd (HDC) during the last 10 years. HDC bought
Mulbadaw Farm on 11th February 2005.

On
Friday 29th January 2016, I had an opportunity to visit some of
my friends in Hanang, including the neighbours of Mulbadaw who HDC worked
with in 2005 and 2006. (“jirani wema” HDC policy)

Olav
Myklatun is the chairperson of the Board of the Norwegian owned company
managing Mulbadaw now.He is
the one “calling the shots”, using Dr Malleyeck from Haydom Lutheran
Hospital and the managers at Mulbadaw, Toralf Rugland and Mr Munyaw as his
“soldiers”. In January 2016, Martin Haugland and Kjell Gustav Sørlie
were representing Toralf Rugland at Mulbadaw.

My
impression from what I heard in Dajamaeda is that the relationship between
the management at Mulbadaw and their neighbours is bad.However, the present management at Mulbadaw has been good at
establishing and maintaining a good relationship with elected political
leaders and with senior officers at District and Regional level.

3.
Concerns and complaints Mulbadaw neighbours want to discuss with the
Minister of Agriculture

The
people I met from villages bordering Mulbadaw expressed concern about the
way they were met by the present management at Mulbadaw – and the
management at neighbouring farms. They had raised their concern several
times with local leaders, but felt that there was “a stop” at local
level; their complaints were not taken seriously. Now they want to see the
Minister for Agriculture.

Some
of their concerns are:

1.
Lack of respect; being treated as “sheep, goats and monkeys”, no good
neighbourhood

They
had lost all the important benefits from the farms that they used to have
during the time of NAFCO and Haydom Development Company Ltd.They mentioned:

-
Health services (NAFCO time)

-
Economic benefits and food security from participating in crop production
on Mulbadaw Farm; -the “jirani wema” HDC policy provided each family
with the yield from up to one hectare (2,5acre).

-Access road to the main road at Galangal (CMSC) over Mulbadaw. This
road has been ploughed and planted with wheat; - villagers are” chased
as goats”. The road around the farm is much longer than the shortcut
they have been using during the last 40 years or more.

2.
Pollution of soil and water from spraying the fields with herbicides (glyphosate)
and pesticides

The
run-off from the sprayed fields is polluting the water for domestic use
and the water that the livestock is drinking. The management of the farms
have been using aeroplanes for spraying herbicide in previous years,
causing crop damage in the villages. This year tractors have sprayed
fields. There is just as much run-off from fields sprayed by tractors as
there is from air-sprayed fields.

There
is a water tank close to the village serving the farms, but the villagers
have no piped water. Participants voiced a fear of poisoning livestock and
people from the surface water they are using.

3.
No access to fertile land

The
lack of opportunities for the youth is, according to one speaker, a main
reason for youngsters running away to “become criminals in towns”.
They feel that they are squeezed between big commercial farms with fertile
land, poor and shallow land only is left for the local population. The
land left provides no future for a family.

The
competition for land, the quest for much more land, might to a certain
extent also be related to the conflict between pastoralists in need of
good pastures and agriculturists needing land for more intensive crop
production.

Another
issue that was brought up was the Central
Maintenance and Service Centre that has been idle or grossly
underutilised after 12th August 2006. CMSC was a service and
training centre for efficient mechanised food production.Haydom Development Company started repair and rehabilitation of the
machinery there early 2006.The
present management has locked off the centre for public use. It does not
contribute anything to development, neither farming nor anything else.

Extra:

For
the readers of the above it might be relevant to know the following:

1.
A short while after meeting a vehicle with people from “HLH Mulbadaw
Farm” on the road to Dajameaeda on Friday 29th January 2016,
I received an anonymous telephone call.The caller said that he had an order from the Central Police
Station in Arusha to arrest me.I
interpreted it as a threat from the present (Norwegian dominated)
management at Mulbadaw intending to prevent me from meeting the people who
had invited me in Dajaemaeda. The telephone register revealed that the
telephone is registered on a “Haydom name”[1].
That confirmed my suspicion. I submitted the telephone number and the name
of the owner to the police in Manyara. They confirmed that neither the
person nor the number had anything to do with the police force.They tried to call the number, but in vain. The SIM card had been
removed from the phone or it was turned off.

2.
Local MP (s) called on some of the leaders Sunday morning 31st
January 2016. The message I received from one of the leaders after the
meeting can be interpreted as if they don’t want the villagers to get in
direct touch with the Minister of Agriculture, - and/or that they don’t
want any other (Zitto Kabwe) to interfere.I might be wrong on this point, - or I do hope that I am wrong!

3.
The local agent for ITV (Babati) showed an interest in reporting from the
meeting in Dajamaeda.He sent
a reporter to the village. He recorded everything of importance from the
meeting.He told me that he
was reporting in newspapers also. Apparently, somebody or something has so
far managed to stop the journalists from publishing[2].
That “somebody” is most
likely the same person(s) threating me by phone calls, wanting to stop me
from visiting my former neighbours and partners in production.

I
checked with the reporter on Monday 8th. He confirmed that
nothing had been reported anywhere, no attempt had been done so far in
publishing anything.He might
still be in possession of the recordings, but it is more likely that
“somebody” has paid the reporter to get rid of the material.

4.
“Olav Myklatuns soldiers”; Dr Malleyeck (Haydom Lutheran Hospital) and
Mr Munyaw (Mulbadaw Farm), travelled to Babati on Monday 1st
February, the same day as the Minister of Agriculture was there.I do not know if they managed to meet with the Minister or with the
ITV journalist, - or both. What I know is that they managed to see the
District Commissioner in Hanang and got his assurance that they are safe
at Mulbadaw.

I
have reason to believe that they also pleaded with him to prevent people
in Dajamaeda complaining to the Minister for Agriculture. If so, it
confirms what the leaders in Dajamaeda said about a “stop” in Hanang
every time they wanted to see higher authorities. The present management
at Mulbadaw has as part of their strategy allocated land to senior
district administrative officers in Hanang. With the new policy of the
Magufuli Government, they have not done so in 2016, - as far as I know.

5.
I talked by telephone with one person at present employed by HLH Mulbadaw
Farm on Saturday night.Through
a common friend, he told me that some people at Mulbadaw knew what we had
talked about. Neither he nor I had talked to anybody about it.He was accused of telling me “business secrets”, - whatever
that might be! Talking with me, revealing business secrets, would be
reason enough for sacking (!) him, according the management at Mulbadaw.

6.
The two Norwegians at present representing the Norwegian Management there,
called a management meeting with Mr Munyaw and the (Kenyan) administrative
officer. The main reason for the meeting was my presence in the area,
according to sources at Mulbadaw (!).

I
had met with Joel Borra on Friday 29th January. He is a former
employee of NAFCO, HDC and HLH Mulbadaw Farm.After the meeting on 29th January, he was evicted from
the house that he has been living in at Mulbadaw. He was told that he
would be removed, using physical force, if he had not moved out within two
weeks. He has taken the management to court (Toralf Rugland) in order to
challenge the legality of the termination of his contract. The case has
been scheduled for hearing 8 times, but the HLH Farm Management (?) has
managed to prevent a ruling in the court as many times. (How?)

7.
On Monday 1st. of February, I parked the HDC vehicle outside a
stationary shop with an internet café in Babati. After about half an hour,
a person with a rather “professional” camera came into the shop and
wanted to take pictures of me. He gave no reason.Did the people who threatened me by phone calls send him?

8.
I think that it is necessary to state that the sole purpose of my visit to
Hanang was to meet my friends from the time that I was working there.

I
had no idea that my presence would cause so much “havoc” and panic.What do the present management at Mulbadaw think?That I am planning to do what they did on 12th August
2006, using migambo armed with rungu to take Mulbadaw Farm and CMSC?

I
have no such intentions.

The
behaviour of the management at Mulbadaw due to my brief presence in the
area is telling a story: They are scared, and for good reasons.They are afraid of their mischiefs, including crimes.
The President in Tanzania might decide to look for the truth, perhaps he
should.

Halvdan
Jakobsen, 8th February 2016.

[1]
Tel 0653 607 594 – Emanuel Esidor.The same person called also from 0674 357 691, the number
registered on one Ibrahim Mohammed.

[2]
March 6th 2016: The chairperson of the village, Mr Renatus, called me
on 5th March. They had not been able to get in touch with the Ministry
of Agriculture and Livestock yet.They could not (were not allowed) to bypass the district
authorities.The issue was
brought to the attention of the Hanang District Council.His hope was now that it eventually would reach the Regional
Authorities.Individuals
in the district authorities have, until this year, been allowed to use
land at Mulbadaw.With the
new President, this has stopped, for obvious reasons.

Renatus
had no information about what had happened to the recordings and
reporting from the meeting, - a development confirming what he and
other said in the meeting about “local stops” – preventing the
villagers communicating directly with central Government and “local
stops” people at Mulbadaw paying the journalist for not reporting
what they hear in the village.